ANRPC voices 'deep concern' over EU's deforestation regulation

GUWAHATI, India—The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries has voiced "deep concern" about the enactment of the European Union's deforestation-free regulation (EUDR).

Recently introduced by Brussels, the regulation introduces strict traceability requirements toward removing commodities linked to deforestation from the market.

At an Oct. 12 executive committee meeting in Guwahati, ANRPC warned that the regulation could lead to a "catastrophic outcome" for rubber growers, particularly smallholders.

Trade policies should align with the rules and regulations set out in the multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its core, a joint communique from the meeting said.

Policies, it added, should promote "an inclusive, equitable, transparent, non-discriminatory, and mutually supportive approach to environmental policies."

Such policies, ANRPC's leaders further argued, should aim to deliver advantages to farmers as the "fundamental stakeholders within the trade ecosystem.

"We urge the EU to look further into the role of the natural rubber sector, its invaluable role in sustainable development, and responsible regulation," the association added.

By acknowledging rubber as a "forest tree," ANRPC said the EU can create regulations that ensure the continued availability of NR "while upholding sustainable development goals."

The association, therefore, urged the EU to establish "practical approaches and measures to ensure the smallholders' inclusivity in the supply chain."

This, ANRPC pointed out, is in-line with the spirit of "leaving no one behind" of the United Nations' sustainable development goals and minimizes the risk of smallholders' exclusion in the EU market.

To conclude, the association's committee expressed hope to establish a "substantial, genuine, and constructive dialogue on the issues of the EUDR."